DRYLANDS across the world are estimated to be home to 38% of the world’s population. In India, it is estimated that 410 million people live in the drylands.1 Many of these people also constitute the ‘poverty geography’ of the country. Other than the arid zones where even rainfed farming is quite difficult, the heart of the drylands is in the semi-arid zones. Drylands in this country constitute more than 70% of the cultivable lands and despite several odds stacked against them, produce about 42% of the country’s food. It is reported that nearly 83% of sorghum, 81% of pulses and 90% of oilseeds grown in the country come from these areas.
Drylands: the way forward
by A. Ravindra, G.V.Ramanjaneyulu and Kavitha Kuruganti, Seminar, 01 August, 2006